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Electric kettles on the store shelves

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Where can you find the safest non-toxic electric tea kettles for you to brew your favorite tea? Mamavation reached out to the most popular brands asking them what materials they are using, if they require any problematic chemical disclosures, and whether they are exposing their customers to microplastics over time. What were their responses? You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you investigations like the safest cookware, safest air fryers, & safest indoor kitchen grills & paninis. Now, join us for our latest investigation on the safest non-toxic electric tea kettles.

Disclosure: This post was medically reviewed by Sondra Strand, RN, BSN, PHN. Please make sure to do your own research as brands and materials may change at any time without notice. California’s laws on cookware and small kitchen appliances are forcing brands to disclose toxic chemicals as of January 1st, 2023. However, not all brands are in compliance with this new law yet. As they comply, these ranks may change if they disclose something they have not disclosed before. Products and manufacturing aides can change without notice so buyer beware. This post contains affiliate links, with most to Amazon, which means Mamavation will receive a portion of those sales and we will use that to pay ourselves back for the testing and research done on each investigation. You can also give a tax-deductible donation to our consumer studies here through Environmental Health Sciences. Thank you! Copyright © 2025 Mamavation — All Rights Reserved

Two stainless steel electric kettles

Electric Tea Kettles Are Modern Conveniences

How do you make that perfect cup of tea? Many people swear by their electric tea kettle. Electric tea kettles are part of modern conveniences with their auto shut-off feature and no fuss easy cleaning. These small kitchen appliances boil water without the need to use the stove. Most people use the hot water for coffee or tea, but other options are ramen, hot cocoa, or even for the starting water for cooking soup. It’s an easy serving of loose-leaf tea, pour-over coffee, or French press coffee. However, they do get a build-up of limescale, so they will need to be hand-washed with a gentle non-toxic dish soap and brush and descaled with white vinegar from time to time to remove the natural mineral deposits.

Most of the electric tea kettles we ran across are dishwasher safe and made from stainless steel or glass materials. They even had special features like an automatic shutoff feature, precise pouring, and they can hold liters of water. Some even had an adorable gooseneck spout, but there are some things you should be aware of before you purchase one. Some of them use materials that could be problematic as they could potentially leak mystery additives into your hot water. Fortunately, these were a minority in the industry, and Mamavation is happy to help you figure out which ones they are so you won’t have to email every brand. After we emailed them and got all their responses, we are happy to report back and give you the details of what they said.

Electric tea kettle sitting on the table with breakfast

Some Electric Tea Kettles Disclose Problematic Materials in Food Contact Surfaces

Lots of Plastic

The most crucial goal for Mamavation in this investigation is to lessen the amount of hormone-disrupting chemicals and other plasticizers your family would be potentially exposed to through using your electric tea kettle.  The best case scenario is to purchase an electric kettle that doesn’t have plastic parts touching your water. Why? Leaching happens when heat, high fat, and high acid are applied to the plastic over time. The electric kettle category is getting safer, but some holdouts still use different types of plastic materials. These materials, over time, will break down and become part of the water. Make sure to avoid plastic or coatings on food contact surfaces of your electric tea kettle.

Woman shopping for an electric tea kettle at the mall

PFAS “Forever Chemicals” = Xylan Coatings

Some brands have disclosed fluoropolymers such as fluorinated ethylene, fluorinated propylene, or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE aka “teflon”). Non-stick coatings have become well-known for their toxicity, and they’re bioaccumulative. Fluoropolymers used in non-stick coatings were found to increase the incidence of tumors of the liver, testicles, mammary glands, and pancreas in lab animals. The EPA has also categorized perfluorinated compounds (PFAS) as likely carcinogenic. Finally, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered a shocking statistic — 98% of Americans have detectable levels of PFAS or PFCs in their bodies.

Most people are aware of the name “Teflon” because Teflon pans are toxic and emit enough poison fumes to kill a bird. But are there other names for Teflon? Xylan is a brand name for fluoropolymer coatings, and we found a few brands avoiding the PFAS conversation and saying they had “Xylan” coating instead. Don’t be fooled because it’s very likely coated in PFAS.

Here are some of the health effects of different PFAS “forever chemicals:”

The knob of the electric tea kettle

Nylon & Stainless Steel Hybrid Filters

There were a few products that disclosed a filter that was made from both stainless steel and nylon. Nylon would be considered a polymer (or plastic) and would have the ability to break down over time. Even though some plastics are considered “safe” by federal agencies for food contact, our advisors simply do not agree based on what we are learning about microplastics and how they interact with our bodies.

Be on the lookout for hybrid filters with nylon and stainless steel because these filters look like stainless steel and may fool you. Unfortunately, when polymers (like plastic) get warm, they release mystery additives and microplastics into your water over time. So it would not be a good idea to make your filter from a type of plastic that can leach if you wanted to cut down on your exposure to random microplastics.

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Woman drinking tea next to her electric tea kettle

Mamavation’s Investigation of the Safest Non-Toxic Electric Kettles

Right away, I want to say that this industry has improved dramatically over the years. The most important part of this investigation is looking to avoid contaminants getting into your water as it’s being boiled. To do this, we emailed the vast majority of the brands and asked them several questions about their products. We did not send any products off to the laboratory for this investigation. We had to rely on what they were telling us about their products for this one.

Please note that manufacturing aides and processes can change without notice, so expect this to change over time. As it does, we will update you on what we discover.

Not Our Favorite Electric Kettles

These products either have coatings made from PTFE (a type of PFAS “forever chemical”) or are made mostly from plastic. This category would have the highest potential of leaching microplastics and mystery additives.

  • Cuisinart 1.7-Liter Stainless Steel Cordless Electric Kettle
  • EUROSTAR 1.0L Plastic Electric Kettle
  • KRUPS 1.7L Cool Touch Electric Kettle BW700853
  • Mega Chef 1.7Lt. Plastic Electric Tea Kettle
  • Mainstays 1.7-Liter Plastic Electric Kettle
  • Peach Street Store Speed-Boil Electric Kettle

Visualization 3d cad model of electric kettle, blueprint. 3D rendering

Better Electric Kettles

This category is an improvement from the other category but still not completely great. Some of them did not respond to our inquiries, so we don’t know very much about their filters. Other brands told us they have a hybrid filter that is made from stainless steel and nylon. This group also did not have any California-mandated chemical disclosures.

A blue, red, and non-toxic green electric tea kettle

Best Electric Kettles

This category is the safest category for electric tea kettles. The insides are either stainless steel or glass. There is no opportunity for hot water to touch plastic pieces. There are also no coatings. The outside materials vary; however, all food contact surfaces are safe.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lisa

    Thank you so much for your work. I just purchased the Cosori Electric Tea Kettle. The box has a prop 65 warning that this product may expose you to chemicals “including lead”. Has anyone clarified if this is present in any water contact areas?

    Reply

  2. Lauren

    Did you take a look at Haden or Smeg? I love the look of those kettles but unsure about plastic vs stainless steel content.

    Reply

  3. Naomi

    LOVE our Saki Luna. Had for 2yr and the kettle is heavily used. We have hard water in our area so we use the Aquatru reverse osmosis filtered water
    and only get minimal mineral deposits around the spout area which I remove by placing paper towel or cotton ball to soften and remove the buildup.
    Love the auto shut off when no water detected in kettle and the multiple settings for coffee, different teas and boil water.
    Never thought a tea kettle was so handy before but I am glad my MIL convinced me to get one!

    Reply

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